The next morning, everything felt normal…
Same college, same friends joking around, same reels — and Aarav was enjoying his life with that same careless smile.
He picked up his phone… opened WhatsApp…And automatically, his eyes went to Naina's chat.
No new message.
He paused for a moment… then smirked to himself —"Finally showing some attitude…"
He thought, "She'll text on her own in a while."
But today… there was no "Good morning :)".
The day passed.Classes ended.Friends went home.
His phone was in his hand again…WhatsApp opened again…
Still nothing.
Now, out of slight curiosity, Aarav opened the chat.
The last message was still there —"You've changed… or maybe I've started understanding."
And below it…
Last Seen: Yesterday 11:47 PM
Aarav narrowed his eyes slightly…"Why isn't she coming online?"
He typed a casual message —"Stop the drama and reply."
The message was delivered…But there was no reply.
Aarav shrugged and kept his phone aside."Do whatever you want…"
But that night… something felt strange.
Until 2 AM, his phone stayed silent.No random messages…No "You're still awake?"No calls.
Aarav checked again —Same.
Last Seen: Yesterday 11:47 PM
The next day…
Still the same.
Now, a slight irritation started building inside him."Seriously? Is she overreacting this much?"
He called her.
The phone kept ringing…No one picked up.
Once… twice… three times…
Then he texted —"Pick up the call, Naina."
Message delivered…But again… silence.
Now, an unfamiliar restlessness had started growing inside Aarav.
He began scrolling through the chat…Up… and up…
Everywhere, there was a pattern —
Naina: textsAarav: late replies or ignored
"Please eat something…""You seem upset…""I'm here for you :)"
And in between, Aarav's dry replies —
"Yeah""Okay""I'm busy"
Aarav's thumb froze on the screen.
For the first time… he felt it.
This was one-sided.
But he immediately tried to distract himself —"No, it's just her mood."
Yet a voice inside him whispered —"Or maybe… she's really gone?"
The third day…
Aarav checked his phone the moment he woke up.
Still…
Last Seen: Yesterday 11:47 PM
As if time had stopped there.
Now, his ego was slowly breaking.
He typed another message —"Are you okay?"
Send.
Staring at the screen, he realized…
This was the first time he had shown genuine concern.
But maybe…
It was already too late.
The room was completely silent…
And in that silence, only one thing felt loud —
Naina's absence.
And for the first time, Aarav was beginning to understand…
When someone is always there,you don't feel their value.
But when they go silent…every second echoes their absence.